


Another Zhurick Fanfic

by allywonderland



Series: The Legend of Korra Shipping Fics [81]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, Meta, there is no fourth wall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-04
Updated: 2015-02-04
Packaged: 2018-03-10 10:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3287744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allywonderland/pseuds/allywonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Short shipping fic, written on Tumblr, archived here.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Zhurick Fanfic

**Author's Note:**

> I felt the need to make up for my first Zhurick fic (if there is one thing I regret writing in this series, it is that fic and also the Borick fic) and figured I could simultaneously use the opportunity to lambast the crap out of the finale and the whole Zhu Li and Varrick mess. Enjoy.

            “So let me get this straight,” Korra said. “You've been madly in love with Varrick this whole time.”

            “Well yes,” Zhu Li said. “It's his incredible brain, full of genius and invention and comedic misogyny, that apparently fuels the attraction.”

            “And nothing that he's made you do,” Asami said, “from the platypus-bear stunt, the ploy to kidnap Raiko that dragged you down into _his_ jail sentence, _waiting_ on him in jail, and rescuing him after Unalaq's attack, to picking up after him in Zaofu, literally scrubbing his feet, and then everything that happened with Kuvira , has deterred you at all from it.”

            “Nope,” Zhu Li said.

            Korra made a face and shared a glance with Asami, and then Opal spoke up with, “That’s pretty... uncomfortable.”

            “What it _is_ is one of the worst cases of trauma bonding in fiction I've ever seen,” Kya said. “You're waiting on him literally hand-and-foot. You're essentially his caretaker, his nanny, always there to pick up and look after him while he gets to be the world's bumbling genius. He's supposed to be a brilliant engineer as well as a shrewd businessman, and yet he can't do simple _chores_ for himself out of ignorance and sheer _forgetfulness_. And that's where you come in: the woman who does everything for him so that he _can_ be the genius. Since you do all the menial work of living and being a human, he’s able to dedicate his full attention to playing the role of the genius. You take the burden of the basic requirements of living.” She smiled bitterly. “And then to make things worse, his misogyny and sexism is similarly played off as a joke, as if he simply doesn't know better and it’s all one big accident, the bumbling genius who just happens to forget that women are people, when we've previously seen that he is supposed to be intelligent and calculating, capable of manipulating everyone around him to his every whim.”

            “ _I_ got to be the test subject for that,” Asami said.

            “And when he named two units of measurement, he dubbed you the measurement for weight and left the measurement of _power_ all to himself,” Opal said. “And then he has the gall, the _writrs_ have the gall, to make a joke out of it, having him say that you could stand to ‘lose a few zhu-lis’,” she quoted. “In a cultural context where 'zhu-lis' is obviously the stand in for ‘pounds’ or ‘weight’.”

            “Which is essentially saying that you need to lose your whole self—your body, personality, identity, and everything,” Korra said. Everyone turned to her. “On top of being a joke about losing weight in a culture where more and more girls are developing severe eating disorders at younger and younger ages—and young girls are supposed to be the _target demographic_ of this series.”

            “Well... yes, to all of that,” Zhu Li said sadly. “And of course it's _supposed_ to be all right, according to the writers, because Bolin tells him that he better treat me right, pushing the audience towards believing that everything will be different and _better_ now that we're heterosexually married. Teaching young girls that it's okay if boys and men treat them badly and dehumanize them, because all girls and women have to do is love men and everything will be fine and work out in the end.”

            “Trauma bonding,” Kya said again, grimly.

            Korra, Opal, Asami, Jinora, and Kya were all quiet, until Jinora exhaled audibly and shook her head, and everyone else joined her.

            “I'm so sorry,” Kya said.

            “It's not the _worst_ character arc a female character could have in this series,” Zhu Li said with a shrug. “Though I honestly don't know who has the misfortune of having that dubious ‘honour’, even though you certainly are the best candidate, Korra.” She gave Korra a small half-smile, which Korra returned in sympathy. “Now, can we talk about something else so we can actually pass the Bechdel Test?”


End file.
